"Ordinary russia is sick": Lithuanian Foreign Ministry responds to russian opposition figure's comments on "ordinary russians"

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis responded to the statement by exchanged russian political prisoner and opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza. Kara-Murza asked not to confuse putin with russia and stated that Western sanctions should be targeted at the political elite of the russian federation, not at "ordinary russians". Landsbergis posted his response on X (formerly Twitter) on August 4.

The post reads:

"I would like to address the recurring question of those ‘ordinary Russians’ who ‘shouldn’t be sanctioned’. I hear talk of ordinary Russians’ innocence, but then I see ordinary Russians murdering ordinary Ukrainians. I see ordinary Russian mothers saying goodbye to their ordinary Russian sons and wishing them good luck with their ordinary Russian war crimes.I see ordinary Russians celebrating murder. I see ordinary Russian parents dressing up their ordinary Russian children in military uniforms and painting the letter Z on a cardboard tank costume. I see ordinary Russians coming together to make a huge Z formation in the town square. Ordinary Russia is sick. Healing will be a long and gruelling process which can only start when Russia, not just Putin, is defeated. Without a defeat in Ukraine, Russia will just keep spreading. So about those ‘unfair’ sanctions against ‘ordinary Russians’... Well, anything which slows down Russia’s total war machine will have ordinary Lithuanians’ support. Whatever victory takes. Glory to Ukraine!".